SpringHill Suites coming to Uptown in a fancy new 15-story building

The NFL and NBA have both told us that we need more hotel rooms. And wow have we listened.

We currently have over 10 hotel projects in development or under construction in Uptown.

With the announcement of the NBA All Star game making its way to Charlotte 2017, the developers of this project must be extremely happy… if they can get it done on time.

What is it?

Going across 5th Street from Time Warner Cable Arena wedged in between the Center City Green and the Light Rail is a 15-story, 180’ foot tall Springhill Suites by Marriott hotel. At 195 rooms, its not a giant but is certainly a help in increasing our room count. Operated by SREE Hotels (I reached out to Parag Patel, the project owner, but he could not be reached for comment).

Why do you care?

Not only is it a very cool building, it will add pivotal retail space along the Light Rail. Plans list 15,050 sqft for retail, but I imagine most of that will be a lobby. Plans do call for a restaurant along the Light Rail and if they have a good bar, it will likely be a hotspot before basketball games or concerts.

The development nerd in me also says you will love the architecture. It is unlike anything we have seen with its very unique colors and shapes. Also, this is a great infill project (taking up a small spot to fill in the “gaps”) and should be a solid addition to the density of the area.

When can you use it?

Currently the project is slated to open in December of 2016. This seems like a very aggressive timeline, but given that the hotel will be an easy sell out for the All-Star Game in February 2017, I imagine once construction starts, it will be full steam ahead.